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Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Bombay Presidency Punch

Invented in 17th century India, this may be among the oldest “mixed drinks”

You might think punch is just a watered-down kiddie drink, fit only for holiday gatherings.

Well, let us introduce you to the Bombay Presidency Punch. Its ancestry features hard-drinking sailors, East India traders, and a Hindustani-inspired name.

Spice Islands ahoy!

Recipe: Bombay Presidency Punch

The Bombay Presidency Punch owes its name to General Sir John Gayer, who wrote down a recipe for it in 1694. Gayer was the East India Company’s governor of the “Bombay Presidency” – as the trading company’s possessions in that part of India were called. He recorded the formula for the punch that he made during his time there.

The punch was later discovered by sailors and merchants who traveled to the area looking to open up trade routes for gold and nutmeg. They mixed the locally produced spirit with citrus, sugar, and spices to create “punch” (the name might be derived from the Hindustani word paantsch, which means “five” – the number of ingredients in a typical punch of that time).

We’ve adapted Wondrich’s recipe to make a single-serving punch – essentially a cocktail. But we provide the full recipe in the Notes if you want to recreate this punch for a crowd. We like to serve our adaptation with ice (we think it suits modern tastes better that way).

The liquor originally used in this punch – and in most punches from Asia – is arrack, a spirit that’s usually made from sugarcane, rice, and/or palm. It tastes somewhat like a raw, minimally processed rum (with funky undertones).

Gayer specified palm arrack for this recipe (Sri Lankan coconut palm arrack works best, so we hear). Palm arrack is hard to find these days, however. In the US, it’s easier to find sugarcane arrack, especially the Batavia-Arrack van Oosten brand from Amsterdam (see the bottle in picture #2). Our favorite liquor store doesn’t stock this, but was able to order it for us.

No arrack on hand? Just substitute a strongly flavored rum that’s a bit on the raw side. The flavor of this punch won’t be “original,” but it’ll still be good.

Ice wasn’t easy to come by in the 17th century, so punch was always served at room temperature or (depending on the type of punch) heated.

So when adapting old punch recipes to serve over ice, decrease the water content – you’ll be replacing it with ice.

Want to make a party-size version of this recipe? Here’s how: Add 8 ounces of sugar and 8 ounces of lime juice to a 3-quart bowl. Muddle the sugar and lime juice together until the sugar has dissolved. Add one 750-milliliter bottle of arrack (Sri Lankan palm arrack, if you can find it; otherwise Batavia-Arrack), plus 4 to 5 cups of water (or use a mix of water and ice equivalent to 5 cups). Stir together, and grate nutmeg over the top of the bowl.

From the 17th through the 19th centuries, punch wasn’t particularly alcoholic. A glass of punch was roughly equivalent to a glass of fortified wine (such as port) in alcoholic content. And glasses back then were small – 2 ounces was traditional for wine glasses. (People used the same glasses for punch; those little punch cups with handles came later).

In those days, spirits tended to be harsh (and high proof), so people diluted them with water. And most people were beer and wine drinkers, particularly in Britain. So diluting strong spirits in punch brought them down to a strength that people were accustomed to.

Nowadays, we associate punch with holiday parties. But punch-like cocktails are fairly common. Think, for example, of the Pimm’s Cup, which is made with a bottled gin mixture that contains herb (and other) flavorings. You mix this with lemon and water and the result is, well, punch.
The Tom Collins is another drink that’s essentially a punch.

And many Tiki drinks are really punch in a glass.

Trade was the “killer app” for sailing ships in the early modern era. Europe lusted after goods from the “Indies” (India, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia). In particular, they hungered for exotic spices (such as nutmeg, mace, and cloves). Not to mention tea. Much of Europe traded in this region, although the big players were Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain.

Because trading was hazardous (and the returns uncertain), investors formed commercial syndicates to spread the risk. The two most famous were the East India Company, a British organization chartered in 1600, and the Dutch East India Company, chartered in 1602. The latter issued stocks and bonds to the public, so it could be considered the world’s first publicly traded corporation.

The two companies competed, but each soon found regions of particular interest. The British company concentrated much of its commercial activity on India, while the Dutch favored the Maluku Islands (part of Indonesia).

The Dutch company founded an extensive trading outpost in the port city of Jayakarta, on the northwest coast of Java. They changed the city’s name to Batavia, then eventually to Jakarta.

That’s why the main sugarcane arrack we can find these days is called Batavia-Arrack (and comes to us through Amsterdam).

Punching our Tickets

“Home, sweet home,” said Mrs Kitchen Riffs, holding up her glass.

“What?” I asked. “Has the punch gone to your head?”

“No, just raising a glass to Christopher Columbus,” said Mrs K R.

“That makes sense,” I said. “Not.”

“So glad he stumbled across our part of the world, looking for the East Indies.”

“Home of spices – and punch!” I said.

“Indeed,” said Mrs K R. “Those European explorers pulled no punches in their quest for trade.”

“Their discoveries packed a punch, too,” I said.

“And here we are today, punch drunk,” said Mrs K R. “Who knows what the future will bring?”

Exotic! You really think up the most amazing subject matter. I've read a few books on the mutual culinary influences between the English and the peoples of the Indian sub-continent. I've also read a history of ice. But I don't remember this

Hi Pamela, isn't this neat? Good flavor, too. Our favorite wine/liquor store was able to order this for us. You can also find it mail order -- DrinkupNY is our favorite mail order source. T Hanks for the comment.

Very interesting. I am familiar with arak, an anise-flavored alcoholic beverage traditionally consumed in Eastern Mediterranean and North African countries, but not Batavia-Arrack. At first I though it was merely a spelling difference, then I read that strong rum is a good replacement. The strongly licorice-flavored arak I've had could never be substituted with rum. So I googled it and discovered these two spirits are indeed quite different. Thanks for the new knowledge! GREG

Great little history lesson, thank you! It does look like a refreshing beverage for sure. I have my FIL's grandparents flatware (probably from the 1800s) and it too is quite a bit smaller than our present size, I wonder why things were smaller back in the day?

What a brilliant story! I love how you do your research and can explain the origins of different cocktails. Batavia-Arrack is a totally foreign name but I have plenty of limes on the tree so must go searching for some. Otherwise there is always rum in the cupboard. Perfect for a Friday night pick me up :D

Hi Merryn, I'll bet you have a good chance of finding Batavia-Arrack at a decent liquor store in your neck of the woods. But rum is just fine -- somewhat different flavor, but good. Thanks for the comment.

I can't tell you how delighted I was to read this post John. Punch is such an interesting beverage to add to any repertoire especially one with such a spicy history!!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and history.

I hope all is well in your corner of the world and that you and Mrs. K.R. are enjoying the warm weather. Thanks again, John...

A punch from the 1600's? What a great find. Bet that book is a fun read, especially for a man that loves the history of drink. :) Nutmeg? That's different and interesting enough to pique my curiosity. Thanks John!

Hi Jeff, we LOVE cocktail history! We didn't drink them for years (beer and wine, thank you very much) but just enjoyed the history. Then one day we decided heck, why not try some of these beauties? How bad can they be? And the rest is, well, history. :-) Thanks for the comment.